United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Iran on Monday to persuade its ally Syria to reach a peaceful resolution of a more than four-year deadly conflict in the Arab country.
During a meeting with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Ban "reiterated that there is no military solution to the conflict and asked Iran to exercise its influence in promoting a political solution," his office said, AFP reported.
The two officials also discussed Yemen, where the UN is trying to revive peace talks and where Iran has influence with Houthi fighters, who are in control of the capital Sana'a.
In addition, Ban called on all parties to implement "in good faith" the nuclear agreement Iran reached with major powers in July, according to a statement from his office.
Separately, the UN chief "underscored the need for Lebanon's presidential vacuum to be filled as quickly as possible," the statement added.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson is due to visit Tehran on Sunday as part of a regional tour to discuss the humanitarian impact of conflicts in Syria and Yemen, according to spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Eliasson was to leave for Riyadh on Tuesday before heading to Abu Dhabi on Friday, Tehran on October 11, and Istanbul on October 13 for a meeting on the refugee crisis.
He will then head to Geneva on October 14 for talks ahead of a humanitarian summit set to take place in Turkey in May 2016.
